The Senate Homeland Security Committee during a business meeting in Washington on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. The committee on Thursday approved a resolution holding Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for his refusal last week to answer questions from the panel. (Alex Kent/The New York Times) By KATE KELLY The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted along party lines Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for his refusal to answer questions at a hearin

Paul Child at his home on the outskirts of Spokane, Wash., on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. Child noticed a man lurking in the grass and called 911 after seeing smoke. The man was accused of starting one of three wildfires in the area and charged with arson. (Loren Elliott/The New York Times) By POOJA SALHOTRA and ANNA GRIFFIN Paul Child and his grandson were about half a mile from their home outside Spokane, Washington, when they spotted a man standing over a stretch of tall grass

By KATIE GLUECK, KELLEN BROWNING and SHANE GOLDMACHER Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive and a vocal critic of Israel, edged Rep. Haley Stevens, a moderate, early Wednesday to win the Michigan Senate Democratic primary, according to The Associated Press. It was a high-profile victory for the ascendant political left, though the rancorous race was ultimately far closer than polls had suggested, with El-Sayed leading by less than a percentage point Wednesday morning. He will fac

Portraits of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance inside the employee entrance of the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, Nov. 13, 2025. An appeals court on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, handed a victory to a group of federal grant recipients that the Trump administration has prevented from spending billions of dollars in climate funding for over a year. (Eric Lee/The New York Times) By CLAIRE BROWN An appeals court earlier this week handed a victory to a gr

A free camp for children of parents and caregivers impacted by nearby wildfires operates at Shadle Park High School in Spokane, Wash., on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. In what authorities have described as the largest natural disaster in the history of Spokane County, Wash., wildfires have destroyed hundreds of structures and forced the evacuation of some 60,000 people. (Loren Elliott/The New York Times) By ANNA GRIFFIN Firefighters and officials earlier this week struggled to descri

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters while signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. The rebellion against Todd Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general, now seemingly contained, at no point fundamentally questioned President Trump’s new protections from the I.R.S. (Doug Mills/The New York Times) By ANDREW DUEHREN Even as he bowed to Republican demands to pare back the extraordinary benefits the Justice D

Christine and Bryan Farris hug after all of their belongings burned from the Old Trail wildfire in Spokane, Wash., on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. Hundreds of structures were destroyed and thousands of people in Spokane County, Wash., remained under evacuation orders on Sunday as firefighters continued their efforts to knock back and control several blazes in the area. (John Stember/The New York Times) By CHRISTINA MORALES In what authorities have described as the largest natural di

A student posts up drawings at the Head Start program for gifted kindergartners in New York, July 16, 2010. The Trump administration is preparing a major rollback of federal requirements for Head Start, a change that supporters of the child care program fear could gut its longstanding antipoverty mission. (Yana Paskova/The New York Times) By CORAL DAVENPORT The Trump administration is preparing a major rollback of federal requirements for Head Start, a change that supporters

President Donald Trump gestures to supporters after speaking at a political rally at Rockland Community College in Suffern, N.Y., May 22, 2026. Barely a third of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the job, putting him at historic depths for a second-term president at this stage of his tenure. (Bryan Anselm/The New York Times) By PETER BAKER After a spate of bad polls earlier this summer, President Donald Trump simply declared that they were not true. “MY REAL POLL NUMBE

A water tower in Flint, Mich., Aug. 20, 2020. Michigan and Minnesota are among at least seven states coping with cyberattacks aimed at disrupting water systems nationwide. (Erin Kirkland/The New York Times) By DUSTIN VOLZ and ERNESTO LONDOÑO The scope of cyberattacks on U.S. water systems has grown to include at least seven states and may be far wider, officials and experts warned, as authorities raced to safeguard the nation’s water supply against an assault that increasingl